Pianist Konstantin Scherbakov pairs Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études — an ambitious, difficult group of pieces composed with the goal of moving around the circle of fifths twice — with twelve études by Sergei Lyapunov that both complement and complete the rotations that Liszt started. Both sets of études move through the same keys within the circle of fifths, with Lyapunov’s first études picking up where Liszt’s last piece ended.
According to the liner notes, the challenge when performing these two semi-circles as one is to “aim at some sort of unity of style – since that was the idea of Lyapunov’s. But that is in fact rather difficult, because two worlds – the cosmopolitan romanticism of Liszt and the Russian romanticism of Lyapunov – are very different.” The cycles can be performed together, though the collective run time is 130 minutes, making for a lengthy program that can strain both performers and audiences. The reward, however is well worth the wait, since it not only contrasts two differing composition styles, Liszt’s “internationalist bravura style” versus Lyapunov’s “westward-looking Russian intensity,” but also serves as the realization of a challenging and important piece in the piano repertoire.
